Baltic or Scandinavian countries after viking cruise?

I would probably be more inclined to visit the Scandinavian countries, however you'll need to consider budget as they tend to be pricey.

You are probably going on a Russian River Cruise. We did one in 2011 and loved it. Our tour was with Vantage World Travel and had the option of a post tour of the three Baltic countries, which we did. Loved the Baltics, the people there were still so excited about their freedom from the Former Soviet Union.

Here is my review of our trip, which also included a four night stay in Kiev, Ukraine.
Russia, Kiev and Baltics
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1478384

Also, we have been to Copenhagen three times as well as visiting Stockholm and Norway.

The last two times we visited Copenhagen and Denmark, we took cruises. The first, we spend about five days prior to the cruise that had Bergen, Norway, the Shetland, Islands, Iceland and ports in the British Isles. The second was in 2019 and went up the coast of Norway to the North Cape. Both were great trips. The cruise of Norway took us to six ports and the scenery was amazing.

Here are my reviews of both trips.
North Sea/Atl and Transatlantic
 
http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=264272
Stockholm and Norway Aritic Circle
https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=659526&et_cid=3214772&et_rid=17221689&et_referrer=Boards

Getting around Southern Norway, you can take the train, but be careful what time you go and try to drive. Our June 2019 cruise, we visited Geiranger, (fantastic fjord and mountains) and were told that a week earlier (early June) that the roads to Geiranger were closed due to a snow storm.

Consider taking a cruise.

You can see Stockholm on your own as well as Copenhagen and around Denmark.

Why not do a bit of both (and include Finland as well, which is neither Baltic nor Scandinavian)?

From St Petersburg, take the train to Helsinki, ferry to Tallinn and then ferry to Stockholm. From Stockholm you can either take the train to Copenhagen direct or make a detour to Oslo, but if you plan to only visit the capitals, you could skip Norway. However, you really should to at least a day trip or two from the larger capitals to see a bit more of the countries.

We enjoyed our visit to the Scandinavian countries which we did in August. I would do this trip extension before your cruise to take advantage of summer temperatures and later sunsets.

I agree with Suki about the timing. Summer ends extremely early in that part of Europe.

I'm planning a trip of my own to northern Europe, and my research indicates that Norway is markedly more expensive than the other Scandinavian countries as well as the Baltic countries. It's also the one with the most dramatic scenery (though the Stockholm archipelago should not be missed), so I think a separate trip that would allow time to see more than just Oslo would be worthwhile. And I'd take the trip in the middle of the summer. Guidebooks indicate that hotels in Oslo may actually be less expensive then, because there's very little business travel at that time of year.

I’m locked in to when I can go do our own travel because of the Viking cruise we are on. It has to be either after we get off the boat sept. 4th or before we get on the boat AUg. 23rd. And we won’t be doing any of this extra travel on a cruise ship as someone mentioned since we are already taking the Viking cruise Moscow to St. Petersburg. It’s going to be by rail or bus or ferry.

If we do Baltic countries before the cruise and end up in Vilnius, should I be worried about getting ourselves to the viking boat from Vilnius to Moscow? How’s the rail/bus service? I sure wouldn’t want to miss the boat.

I’m locked in to when I can go do our own travel because of the Viking
cruise we are on. It has to be either after we get off the boat sept.
4th or before we get on the boat AUg. 23rd.

The difference in weather between late August and early September is hardly noticable, so from a weather point of view there no advantage in doing it before vs after.

If we do Baltic countries before the cruise and end up in Vilnius,
should I be worried about getting ourselves to the viking boat from
Vilnius to Moscow? How’s the rail/bus service? I sure wouldn’t want to
miss the boat.

I see no reason to be worried about that. There are daily night trains from Vilnius to Moscow. However, those night trains go through Belarus during the night so you need to check whether you need a Belarusian transit visa. Or make your last stop in Riga or Tallinn, the night trains to Moscow from those cities do not pass through Belarus.

I'm sorry that my earlier response wasn't clear. My reference to a mid-summer trip referred to my suggestion that you hold off on Norway and see it separately. I understand that for next year you are linking the Scandinavian/Baltic visit to your cruise.

I think that bus or train from either Riga, Tallinn, or Vilnius to Moscow is slow and best avoided if you’re not familiar with and particularly interested in the region. If visiting these cities, I would still put them at the end of the trip, as Badger suggests. Both Riga and Tallin are connected to both Helsinki and Stockholm by tallinksilja.com ferries. Sky scanner.com can also help you find budget flights not tied to your long-distance plan.

Ok here is my thinking now.

We fly into Moscow and do the viking cruise first, aug. 23-sept. 4. I think I would feel more comfortable and reassured that we would not miss this most expensive part of our trip if we do the traveling on our own after the cruise, whether it be Baltic or scandinavian. Yes I know days are maybe a tad bit colder and shorter but I wouldn’t think there would be that much difference.

Two scenarios:

1) Baltic: after cruise, stay an extra night probably in St. Petersburg on our own. Stay near the train station to Tallin. Anybody know what that train station is called? Everybody seems to think St. Petersburg is worth more time and then we can leave the next morning very early on the train to Tallinn. I think it currently leaves at 6:25 am And arrives at 12:45 pm. Spend 3 nights in Tallinn, 3 in Riga, followed by 3 in Vilnius. Then fly to Helsinki for a night or two and fly home to Florida. In order to get the free airfare we have to fly from Helsinki (though we must pay a $100 each deviation fee). None of the Baltic countries are part of the fly free deal.

2). Scandinavia: After cruise, train to Helsinki. Stay one night. Take overnight ferry to Stockholm. Everybody talks about how beautiful the first few hrs of this trip are via ferry but wouldn’t it be too dark to see anything cause I think it leaves at 5 pm?... and I think the ferry only goes about 3 times per week so we may need to stay awhile longer in St. Petersburg or Helsinki. Is there any way to go directly from St. Petersburg-Stockholm other than flying which, if you want a cheap flight, is a horrible schedule. Stockholm 3 nights, Then train or bus or flight to Oslo 3 nights (or skip Oslo cause it seems to be out of the way) and then train/bus/fly to Copenhagen 3 nights. Fly home from copenhagen. Free viking air is allowed from here.

We usually spend 3-3 1/2 weeks in Europe so this seems to match up pretty well to what we have done in the past. Suggestions on Anything??? Time spent, routing, etc. I’m sort of inclined to stick to the baltic countries ( closer to St. Petersburg, closer to each other, and cheaper) and do Scandinavian some other time but am open on that.

I think doing the Baltic countries is smart in this situation, for geographical reasons. There are ferries between St. Petersburg and Helsinki, but they may well be very infrequent and more costly than the train; perhaps they're also slower.

As for the Helsinki-Stockholm ferry, the most beautiful part is the Stockholm Archipelago, which will come toward the end of the trip as you travel west. I think Rick says the most beautiful segment is the third hour, which would begin 3 hours before arrival in Stockholm.

Loved Helsinki, Tallinn, and St Petersburg on Rick’s Baltics tour 8/26-9/3/19.

Agree with extra night in St P.

In Helsinki, the new Central Library (Oodi) has amazing architecture, 2 cafes, a sunbathing terrace, community kitchens and makers’ spaces, and oh yeah, books! We also enjoyed the public sauna on the Old Port Pier and their outdoor pools.

Tallinn gets lots of day trippers in the beautiful old town but quiets down by late afternoon. Music is an important part of Estonia’s cultural heritage so look for concert notices. There were multiple options when we were in Tallinn.

Can’t help with your specific questions but happy planning !

Yes I know days are maybe a tad bit colder and shorter but I wouldn’t
think there would be that much difference.

Neither would I!

1) Baltic: after cruise, stay an extra night probably in St.
Petersburg on our own. Stay near the train station to Tallin. Anybody
know what that train station is called? Everybody seems to think St.
Petersburg is worth more time and then we can leave the next morning
very early on the train to Tallinn. I think it currently leaves at
6:25 am And arrives at 12:45 pm.

According to the Man in Seat 61, the train to Tallinn leaves Moskovski station. But you might need to check the schedule, as far as I know there are only night trains on that route. A faster option is to take the train to Helsinki and a ferry from there. (I'm sure it was just a mistake, but the Estonian capital is spelled Tallinn with two Ns. Tallin is the russian spelling that was used during the Soviet occupation. I don't mean to be nitpicking, but this is an instance where spelling is important.)

Then fly to Helsinki for a night or two and fly home to Florida. In
order to get the free airfare we have to fly from Helsinki (though we
must pay a $100 each deviation fee). None of the Baltic countries are
part of the fly free deal.

I'm not saying this because I'm Swedish, but if Stockholm and Copenhagen are included in the fly free deal, I think one of them would be a better choice. And you can easily add a night or two in Helsinki between St Petersburg and Tallinn. From Vilnius it is roughly the same distance to Stockholm and Helsinki, while Copenhagen is a bit further away (but probably only 10 minutes or so by plane).

2). Scandinavia: After cruise, train to Helsinki. Stay one night. Take
overnight ferry to Stockholm. Everybody talks about how beautiful the
first few hrs of this trip are via ferry but wouldn’t it be too dark
to see anything cause I think it leaves at 5 pm?...

In early September it will not be dark when you depart and arrive. I did a quick check, on the 6th the sun sets 20:11 in Helsinki and rises 05:58 in Stockholm on the 7th. So you will see the best views (and a sunset over the Baltic sea).

and I think the ferry only goes about 3 times per week so we may need
to stay awhile longer in St. Petersburg or Helsinki.

There are two companies (Viking and TallinkSilja) that both have daily departures between Stockholm and Helsinki, at least when there is no pandemic.

Is there any way to go directly from St. Petersburg-Stockholm other
than flying which, if you want a cheap flight, is a horrible schedule.

St Peterline has direct overnight ferries between St Petersburg and Stockholm but only once or twice per week in the summer, and in September I guess it would be once weekly at most. Regarding flights I don't think the schedule for autumn 2021 has been set yet so it's hard to say if it will be horrible or not.

Stockholm 3 nights, Then train or bus or flight to Oslo 3 nights (or
skip Oslo cause it seems to be out of the way) and then train/bus/fly
to Copenhagen 3 nights. Fly home from copenhagen.

Don't get me wrong, I love Oslo. But the main attraction in Norway is the nature. And as much as I love Oslo, I'm not sure it is worth the detour (but if you go, you will probably have a great time!). Another option is to add a bit of time to a day trip or two from one of the cities, or a stop along the way. I can't help but thinking that both your schedules are very focused on the capitals.